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[Terenos]

The troop counts are comparable, as they should be, we are after all reinforcing equally.

[Tack]

We could also build five more camps.

Okay I'm going to take the time to actually lay stuff out.
We've got to fix all of these and we don't have the time or dice to do it.

Slave-Farmed Smallholds   -   Agriculture is farm-based, with high productivity from slave labour, although technological advances are limited.
Family Education      -   Close-knit groups of kin or kith are responsible for training and educating their own.  Knowledge is preserved, but the quality of troops and scholars alike is highly variable.
Militia Service         -   Armies are nominally part time, but citizen militia can spare time to train and prepare for battle without draining the resources a professional army would.

Also; the Spitters need to be countered. Longbows or larger shields could do it, or putting shields on our slaves a la levy.

[Jilladilla]

The troop counts are comparable, as they should be, we are after all reinforcing equally.

No they aren't... If we had enough transport capacity we would be reinforcing all 3 fronts equally, but we don't, so as a result most of the guys that would be heading for Front 2 and 3 have to stay home as they can't swim across an entire sea.

The cities reinforcing Front 1 aren't going to hold the idiot ball and not send all they can just so that all the numbers between all 3 fronts would be equal...

And if you want proof, go back and look at the numbers in the previous turns, they aren't equal, Front 1 is receiving the most troops out of all three fronts. Heck, look at the last turn! Front 1 received ALMOST TWICE as many reinforcements as Front 3!
Also, it's just one apprentice, not Heracles or Zeus.... They aren't THAT important. At least, not until we get them in some greater number, and with better spells.

[Terenos]

Well we should have mages/apprentices in greater numbers, but we don't. So I'm quite curious why we don't.


And furthermore, what I was referring to (I know I was unclear): They matched us on the 3rd front, manpower wise. Defeat, we got pushed back. They cut spending there, down to 5/8ths the manpower they spent year 301, it was a massacre. And you're going to try to tell me a single apprentice wouldn't have done wonders.
I suppose we won't actually know, until some manner of testing is done. But I remain firm in my belief that magic helps a lot more than we know right now.

[Tack]

It seems like Magic will really be the decider, but we have so many mundane issues that are dragging us back already.

[Madman198237]

So, how about this for manpower shortages:

Macedonian Phalanx
Combining troops and tactics, a new "pikeman" unit is developed, and given a twenty-four-foot bronze-tipped pike, held with both hands, to keep enemies at a distance. The soldiers are "armored" in what amounts to a set of wicker baskets, that are easy to dispose of should any part of the assembly get hit with acid. They fight in a phalanx formation, several ranks deep. The first four ranks level pikes at the enemy, forcing hostile forces to advance through the wall of pikes in order to strike. This distance protects the soldiers from melee enemies, while the wicker armor will protect from the acidic spit of the hostile forces. Somewhat, anyway.

The pikemen for the Phalanxes will be drawn from our former slave units, as volunteers, promised their freedom on completion of a term of service. Any slaves who do not volunteer will be put to work making the weapons and armor suits for the phalanxes, to ease the burdens of production. Those slaves will serve an additional five years after the war is finished before being released, and will be the first to be conscripted in an emergency situation.

Former spearmen will be trainers and commanders for our new pikeman units, as they have experience and are generally better than former slaves for positions of command. This will also ease the burden of training. Individuals will not be skilled, but they will be drilled as a large group, further reducing training time.

This would be a design this turn, with two revisions added to capitalize on our camp productivity (Kill the corruption, finally, and add another camp to train phalangites only). While it would not save our transport shortages, it would give us much more effective troops. I'm just not sure what the best thing to do right now is, though. I'd almost recommend pulling back and fortifying on all fronts save Front 1.

[Nirur Torir]

I think we should revise a night watch tactic and use our free budget swap to convert mage and spearman training into 7% apprentice training, which should just be enough for +3 apprentices. If we add timber use to the night watch we could probably set up a bunch of fires every night.

[Tack]

Seeing as we have two different designs for "pikes" and "levy", I'm just gonna resubmit this.

Our slave and militia troops are too easily overwhelmed by the larger and more agile bugs. Thus, we should teach them to carry long pikes into battle.
The simple 'turn, stand, thrust' of pikes makes them easier to train with, and the long reach will mean less threat from the great warrior-bugs, and an easier time preventing the smaller workers from closing upon our lines.

[Madman198237]

I wouldn't do that, though. We need to make sure that there is a formation involved. A lone pikeman will get overrun like nobody's business.

Also, giving slaves pikes is a revision. Giving slaves pikes, armor, freedom, tactics, and training is a good use of a design, without overreaching. I think.

[Tack]

If we're allowed to be that ambitious, we can roll Pikes, Levy and Freedom for Service all into one design.

[Nirur Torir]

Please no pike slaves. They have terrible morale, which isn't going to work for pike squares. Giving them adequate morale would require more than 0 training points.

[Tack]

Skirmisher slaves?
Wide formation, avoid acid.
Shield, block acid
Javelins, deal some damage before combat lines close.

[Madman198237]

What are you talking about, low morale? We're freeing slaves for this. They VOLUNTEER, then serve for a short term, and are released from service and slavery. Morale will be EXCELLENT.

As for the whole "Levy" thing, we could probably allow/force (That's what a "Levy" is, after all, a king orders a lord or knight to provide soldiers and they conscript peasants to fight, usually as spearmen) regular people into the phalanx, but slaves would make up the bulk to improve morale and reduce costs.


The big issue is strength, a 20-foot pike takes strength to use and we might have to spend extra training or food to get our slaves up to par. But if we do, then they'll be strong enough to hold off even the toughest soldier drones. We could also replace the bronze tips with iron ones (Like the Greeks and Macedonians actually used) to do more damage.

The biggest issue with such a formation is siege artillery, but if they get mobile siege artillery beasts any time soon we're grandly screwed, since all our forces rely on close-formation fighting.

I mean, we could research gunpowder? But it'd be really, REALLY hard. And not immediately useful.

[Nirur Torir]

The difference is "Yay I'll be free if I fight" and drafted civilians standing fast in visceral terror of being charged by a horde of giant monsters, particularly when a few people running will collapse the formation that lets the pikes work.

They need to be well drilled, not just consciously decide not to run.

[Madman198237]

That's the genius of a Macedonian Phalanx---they're not watching their friends get killed, they're holding the bugs back 12 feet and all their buddies have spears pointed past them as well, meaning that none of the bugs are getting close anyway. Also, the formation won't just disintegrate. If I'm right, you're confusing "Macedonian Phalanx" with "pike square". The first is a military machine, the second is an infantry tactic meant to defend against cavalry.

The Macedonian pike is 20 feet long or longer. The shield is lightweight and worn on the left arm, without a handhold. Body armor is minimal, though simple helms or helmets were common. Really cheap, really effective, and requires the following training: Strength to hold your pike, and the ability to poke, withdraw, and poke again. Simple, yet brutally effective.